I can see the value from a hiring perspective in asking candidates to code, but it's no panacea. The bias in the interviewing process that so many acknowledge still bleeds through into many of the coding projects in the form of prescribed languages or frameworks. I suppose there's some merit to that if the intention is to screen for experience in a particular language or framework, but it does run counter to the commonly-expressed sentiment that companies are looking for smart developers who are able to learn new technologies rather than developers who have happened to use particular technologies.
As a candidate going through the job search process now, though, I have to say that it gets tiring to do a project or programming test for every different company. I can juggle more traditional applications (phone screens, on-site interviews) at a time than applications that require coding projects as I'm limited by the number of 4-hour (or 8-hour or whatever) blocks of time I can devote to completing a project for each one.
As a candidate going through the job search process now, though, I have to say that it gets tiring to do a project or programming test for every different company. I can juggle more traditional applications (phone screens, on-site interviews) at a time than applications that require coding projects as I'm limited by the number of 4-hour (or 8-hour or whatever) blocks of time I can devote to completing a project for each one.